Increased diversity in leadership casts a wider perspective for solving problems and bolstering health equity in patient care, according to a speaker at GI Outlook.
Progress in building diversity in leadership has improved over the years, but disparity still remains, Amrita Sethi, MD, MASGE, of Columbia University Medical Center, said during a presentation. Focus on the data reveals that although women account for about 50% of medical school graduates, retention rates dwindle as they progress in their careers. Specifically, only 37% and less than 20% of GI fellows and advanced endoscopy fellows, respectively, are women. These numbers dip even lower when looking at women in senior career levels (< 25%) and women in top leadership levels (< 8% of division chiefs), Sethi reported.